The birthplace of Powhatan (Chief WaHōnSeNaKah) in Varina is among nine historic sites added to the list of most endangered historic sites in Virginia May 19 by the nonprofit Preservation Virginia.
The site is located on the 523.8-acre Tree Hill Farm property at 6404 Osborne Turnpike, along the north bank of the James River just downstream from the City of Richmond. Rezoning plans for a massive mixed-use development project there were approved by the Henrico County Board of Supervisors in 2007, but a downturn in the economy put those plans on hold in the years since.
But in 2024, developer Brookfield Residential announced the execution of a purchase agreement to buy the site from Gray Land and Development Co. – Tree Hill LLC, which had purchased it from the Ferguson family in late 2006 for $13.3 million. Brookfield, part of a worldwide property development and management company, now intends to “bring much of the 2007 vision to reality,” according to its Tree Hill website. (Gray Land and Development Co. still owns the site, according to the county’s Real Estate Assessment Division website.)…